Slugs Attacking New Asparagus Bed....

[KevsFarm]

Hi Folks, my name is Kevin and i'm new here..Last year i planted a new asparagus bed and had a few asparagus beetles, nothing serious...The last few days slugs have invaded.I don't use chemical/poisons to deter/stop pest.
Does anyone know of a natural control for slugs..? I know about beer in a dish, and believe i've heard salt around the plants deter them.Anyone here done battle with slugs , naturally and won...? Thanks, Kevin

 

[hoodat]

Beer in a pie plate or dish is the best I've found. Dark beer works best and it should be flat. Salt will certainly kill them but it also plays hob with your plants. Some have recommended crushed egg shells but that's never worked for me. Snails are the problem here, not slugs. Maybe I'll just Google a good escargot recipe

 

[Greenthumb18]

For slugs try sprinkling crushed eggshells or you could even use sand around the area you want slug-free, seems to work great. You could use Copper strips too.


Good Luck!

 

[lesa]

I am puzzled by this...I have never seen slugs on asparagus. Are they actually eating it? I usually have problems with large leafed stuff (lettuces, cabbages, etc.) Are they crawling up the plant??

 

[ninnymary]

Someone on here said they use crushed oyster shell. It worked like a charm!

Mary

 

[ducks4you]

, KevsFarm!
I agree with hoodat--try the beer. I used to use (cheap) bear in cans to keep slugs off of my tomatoes before I moved out to the country. We had a 1/4 acre city lot, with a really shady and wet backyard. The tomatoes grew along a fairly sunny, but still very wet 6 ft fence that separated our neighbor's yard from us--slugs were definitely a problem. I used a can opener to cut the tops off the cans off and buried them up to the rim. It was great fun to watch dead and dying slugs accumulate in the beer cans!!

 

[hoodat]

Someone on here said they use crushed oyster shell. It worked like a charm!

Mary

Two benefits in one. I don't know about slugs but oyster shell is a great source of organic calcium to stop blossom end rot on tomatoes and peppers.

 

[Greenthumb18]

Two benefits in one. I don't know about slugs but oyster shell is a great source of organic calcium to stop blossom end rot on tomatoes and peppers.

Eggshells is the same, their more readily available than oyster shells are.

 

[KevsFarm]

Thanks everyone for your ideas and advice..I've been out there early in the morning picking the slimmy buggers off by hand.I can't believe how slimmy they are..! The first morning i picked them off i was gloveless, i scrubbed with soap and water for a good while before the slim was finally off my hands..Now i wear gloves and throw them in a plastic container, my chickens go wild for them..!
Yes, they are on all parts of the asparagus plants,they seem to like the main stem more then the foliage. When i get out there some are heading back down the plants for cover and out of the sun. It's funny because i have an older asparagus bed, 18 yr old and going strong,never seen one slug there in all those yrs,but plenty of asparagus beetles..I hand pick them early morning also before they warm up, there slow moving and easy to get in the am coolness..I also gather and burn the dried asparagus plants where the buggers like to hide until the next season.
The older bed gets full sun and i never mulched it at all. My new bed is mulched with oak leaves, making a nice moist place for slugs to hide. I mulched it because i had such a problem with weeds, and the area gets less sun than my older bed. So i traded weeds for slugs...lol.. I don't know which is worse...The plants are growing pretty well and i haven't cut any since planting the one yr old roots.I've started moving the mulch away from the plants, since i've gotten the weeds under better control now..There are one or two trees i need to remove for more sun which will help...Thanks again all for the helpful tips...